The Boeing 787 Dreamliner is the first commercial aircraft to be build using hightech carbon and plastic materials instead of aluminum. The weight savings of thousands of aluminum panels and steel rivets allow the Dreamliner to achieve a 20% fuel advantage over convention commercial aircraft.

The Dreamliner comes in three models for both medium and long-haul flights with a seating capacity of between 210 to 330 places.

Able to fly up to 15,750 kilometers (9,700 miles) without refueling, it could easily manage a flight between New York and Manila, or Moscow and Sao Paulo, routes so far only open to bigger planes such as Boeing's 777 or 747.

Boeing hopes the Dreamliner will be used to open up profitable flights between cities which so far have no direct links such as Seattle-Shanghai, Boston-Athens or Madrid-Manila.